Antivirus company shuts down its data-harvesting arm after getting caught red-handed

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Just days after Avast’s popular antivirus software was revealed to be harvesting browsing data and selling it to advertisers, the company has said that it’s shutting down the subsidiary that made it possible. Writing in a blog post, company CEO Ondrej Vlcek says Avast is terminating its Jumpshot subsidiary’s data collection and operations “with immediate effect,” and doesn’t mention any plans to transfer the company’s “hundreds” of affected employees, meaning they’re likely out of a job. “Protecting people is Avast’s top priority and must be embedded in everything we do in our business and in our products. Anything to the contrary is unacceptable,” Vlcek wrote. “For these reasons, I – together with our board of directors – have decided... Continue reading…